Leap of faith pays off for entrepreneur
Christy Atkins embraces a new career as Birch and Berries owner
Christy Atkins is still new to Corner Brook and she’s new to business.
But she’s put her best foot forward to establish herself during trying economic times.
Atkins opened Birch and Berries, a wellness and lifestyle shop, on Broadway in Corner Brook in 2018.
The store sells an assortment of items, including skin care, wellness, baby, yoga, and home décor products, as well as books, gourmet foods, and much more.
Atkins operates Birch and Berries with very particular values about the kinds of products they offer and where they come from.
Store products are personally curated by Atkins herself, ensuring they are ethically sourced, sustainably created and often Canadian-made.
She says she wants to work with brands who participate in fair trade, have organic options, give back to their community or charity, and who don’t allow child labour.
“I just want to bring a better quality of options to Corner Brook, to Newfoundland,” Atkins told The West Coast Wire.
BACKGROUND
When Atkins moved to Corner Brook in 2018, she was, in fact, coming full circle.
She was born in Corner Brook in 1982; although, until the age of 13, she grew up in Port au Choix.
She then moved with her mother to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, where she lived for nearly 25 years. Between the ages 18 to 20 she worked at a specialty boutique shop. That was the only prior retail experience she had. She later worked as a correctional officer at a correctional facility in Yellowknife for 10 years.
Eventually, the moment arrived when she felt she had to make a change.
“Having worked at the jail for a decade and having previously worked with at-risk youth and doing volunteer work in that high-risk field, I just felt that I needed a change,” said Atkins. “It was starting to get to me, it was a really heavy workload and it’s really tough work.”
Married and with a child of her own, she knew Newfoundland would be a great place to raise a family.
The family arrived in Corner Brook on Mother’s Day, 2018.
With no business background or any business education, she took a leap of faith and decided to sell baby products.
“I started Birch and Berries because it’s something completely different from what I previously had done,” she said.
OPERATING A NEW BUSINESS
Atkins has faced adversity since her arrival.
She learned early on the market for baby/child/mom products was too niche. She diversified into a wellness and lifestyle shop to offer more to Corner Brook. The first year was quite difficult, especially in a new city where she faced the unknown and didn't have family or friends.
Then the pandemic hit and that’s made things more difficult still.
However, Atkins remains grateful to be in these circumstances, especially given where she came from.
“I don’t have the same stress as I had with my old job,” she said. “And when I do have a bad day, I just remind myself of the work I did previously.”
She feels blessed to be located in the Broadway Mini-Mall, where she says her business neighbours, the Alteen family, have acted as mentors to her.
“It’s been super to have them next door to me,” she said.
And she feels blessed to have a community of people around her who have started to support the store.
“I love when a customer walks into my shop and enjoys my products,” said Atkins. “The best part of the job is making customers happy.”